


Witching Hour

by IonFusion



Category: Naruto
Genre: 90 minutes to gift, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst, Angst with a sort of happy ending, Discord: Umino Hours, Halloween, I Tried, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Past Character Death, Umino Hours Discord Server 90 Minutes To Gift Exchange, Vampires, What Have I Done, but it's not Iruka or Kakashi so I hope you let it slide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27342355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IonFusion/pseuds/IonFusion
Summary: “Tis now the very witching time of night,When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes outContagion to this world; now could I drink hot bloodAnd do such bitter business as the dayWould quake to look on.”William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Umino Iruka & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Umino Iruka & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 13
Kudos: 21
Collections: 90 Mins To Gift - Halloween Edition





	Witching Hour

**Author's Note:**

  * For [myka1231](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myka1231/gifts).



> I got you again, fam lol. I hope this doesn't make you tired of my writing haha. Also, please don't hate me for this.

_ Is it too much to ask? _ Iruka wonders as he stares at the portrait on the wall. It’s been years; surely there is someone who could restore it.  _ Someone in the villa- in the city _ .

He shakes his head; he’s been alone too long, hasn’t gone out enough. (It’s not a real excuse, because how hard is it truly to forget the city that’s built up around him?)

Iruka sighs and steps away, back turning on the only image he has of his lost son. 

(It’s not the same. It’s not the same as having him, but Iruka will be  _ damned _ \- ironically enough - if he loses this last piece, too.)

_ Naruto _ . 

It still hurts to think about that day - the day their home was attacked, the day everything was sacrificed to the fire. Naruto fought to protect them, their little family, and had suffered dearly the consequences. Wounded and burned almost beyond recognition but cursed with his quick healing, the boy - young man, by then - had lingered in this mortal realm long after even Iruka would have surrendered to the pain. 

“Iruka?” 

He looks up at the call of his name, feels his features soften. “Kashi,” he breathes, and allows himself to be pulled into a strong embrace. 

“You visited his picture again, didn’t you.” It’s not an admonishment or chastisement; it’s simply concern. 

“I couldn’t help it,” he admits, pulling away to wrap his arms around himself (as if he can return warmth to his limbs)(as if the heat of the fires don’t haunt him). “We should get his portrait restored, you know. It’s fading.” 

Kakashi nods thoughtfully. “You might be right. After all this time…” It’s the older man’s turn to sigh, shoulders slumping under the weight of memory and decades. “We should honor him.” 

Iruka smiles sadly. “We should.” 

Together they stand in silence, still as statues -  _ unnervingly _ still. Eventually Kakashi moves as if waking from a deep slumber. “Are you ready for tonight?” 

‘Tonight’ meaning the start of the hunt in an hour. It’s October 31st, the one day a year they allow themselves to give in to their natures and stalk the night as the shadows they are fated to always be. Despite his earlier melancholy and grief, Iruka’s grin grows sharp. “Aren’t I  _ always _ ?” His partner laughs and moves gracefully away, eyes almost flashing red in the fading sunlight. 

It doesn’t take long for Iruka to be dressed in his black skinny jeans and turtleneck sweater, combat boots laced tight and secure against his skin, supple leather gloves - also black - snug on his hands. Before heading to the roof to meet Kakashi, though, he takes a moment at the small shrine. 

There is no other picture of Naruto. Instead, in the center sits a wood frame painted teal of Iruka and Kakashi at a ramen shop several blocks away. Ramen had been Naruto’s favorite, and the two men had made it a point to go out for ramen every year on the anniversary of their boy’s birthday. Kakashi had been the one to choose the teal, surprisingly. 

( _ Blue like his eyes _ , Kakashi had explained sadly,  _ strong like him _ .

Iruka took pity on him, clasped his ever-cold fingers between his equally-chilled palms - marble, both of them, bereft of their last bit of warmth and joy.  _ Infinity, _ he reminded his lover,  _ like we should have with him - and that we still have with each other _ . 

They’ve argued about that, whether eternity is a gift or a curse. The answer, and thus the winner, changes with each passing day, as one man stumbles before the other can lift him back up. 

_ Truth _ , Kakashi whispered sadly.  _ What we know and can never share. _

_ Faith, _ Iruka countered just as soft,  _ that we will make it through to see him in the end _ .) 

Iruka presses a kiss to his fingers and brushes them along the frame.  _ We fly for you tonight _ , he thinks.  _ We do this so that we might live like you would want us to. _ He hesitates.  _ Forgive us _ .

Then he’s standing and joining Kakashi on the roof. The silver-haired man is dressed similarly in all-black, only his outfit utilizes a dress shirt with sleeves rolled up twice and a black surgical mask (he’s never quite kicked that habit; Iruka loves him more for it). 

Kakashi turns from the view of the city beneath their feet to look at him. “Ready?” 

They meet each other’s eyes, counting down not so much in numbers but in  _ feelings _ \- the feeling of their power growing within them, the veil o’er the world growing thin, the press of darker magics against their backs and shoulders - the singing of the  _ hunger _ . 

Iruka grins; his teeth have already sharpened and lengthened, primary fangs threatening to slice into his bottom lip if he’s not careful. He knows his eyes burn red with that hunger and with anticipation because Kakashi’s do, too. “Of course.” 

Together they turn and run and leap - and fly on leather wings through the night. 

They’ve had it tough, they’ve lived through nightmares, but they’re still  _ here _ . They still love each other, love their adopted son, love as fiercely as they can what joys can still find in life. But this life has warped them. Kakashi was not given a choice all those years ago to be taken by the darkness, but Iruka  _ had _ been given a choice, as had Naruto - they had known the risks, had still wanted this cursed existence if only to stay together, to save their loved ones. 

They’re warped. Loss and centuries will do that to you.  _ War _ will do that to you, and they fight battles every day in ways their past selves could never have imagined. Depression. Grief. Anger. Time. But they’re still fighting. That’s what matters - that they’re  _ trying _ despite the monsters they’ve become, the fates of their tormented souls. 

One day it won't be enough; on that day, however, they will still go down fighting, and they’ll go down knowing Naruto is waiting. 

And it is not happiness or hope that thought grants them, but it is a sort of peace, and that’s all they can really ask for. 

For now, their Witching Hour is only nigh.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. So, um. The muse possessed me. I tried very, very hard to make this less sad, I really did, but the fic was already written by the time I realized what I'd done. 
> 
> So, this is AU. For this, I hc that Kakashi got bit by a vampire on a mission. Not wanting him to be alone for all of eternity, Iruka makes Kakashi turn him. In order to win the war with Crazy Moon Goddess, Naruto makes Iruka turn him to give him an extra edge. They live alone for a few decades after their friends all die - but then some villagers find out about their secret and attack their home. Naruto is severely injured trying to keep the peace/protect his family, and he eventually succumbs to his wounds. This fic is set in the modern era and is supposed to show Iruka and Kakashi making the best of their situation, giving them the happiest ending they can manage. 
> 
> And yes, 'witching hour' is being used symbolically, so it isn't always referring to the same thing. I tried to make that as clear as possible.
> 
> I hope this was okay, Camilita!


End file.
